Invalid hoist

ABSTRACT

An invalid hoist comprises a telescopic mast (11) having a lower part (18) and an upper part (19), power operated device for raising and lowering the upper part relative to the lower part, a lifting arm (12) pivotably connected to the upper part of the mast, the lifting arm having a sling hanger (23) or at least one sling attachment point at or adjacent to one end thereof, and a manually extendable/retractable stay (30) between the lifting arm and the lower mast part. The lifting arm is pivotally connected to the upper part of the mast at a position intermediate its ends and the extendable/retractable stay is connected to the lifting arm on the side of the pivotable connection between the lifting arm and the upper apart of the mast remote from the one end of the lifting arm. The stay can be extended, if the power operated device fails with the upper part of the mast in a raised position, to lower a user to a position in which he/she can be released from a sling supported by the lifting arm. It can also be extended, when the upper mast part is in its lowermost position, to move the lifting arm to a storage position alongside the telescopic mast.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an invalid hoist.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided an invalid hoist comprisinga telescopic mast having a lower part and an upper part, power operatedmeans for raising and lowering the upper part relative to the lowerpart, a lifting arm pivotably connected to the upper part of the mast,the lifting arm having a sling hanger or at least one sling attachmentpoint at or adjacent to one end thereof, and a manuallyextendable/retractable stay between the lifting arm and the lower partof the mast, the lifting arm being pivotably connected to the upper partof the mast at a position intermediate its ends and theextendable/retractable stay being connected to the lifting arm on theside of the pivotable connection between the lifting arm and the upperpart of the mast remote from said one end of the lifting arm.

Preferably, the mast is mounted on a mobile chassis.

The stay can be extended, if the power operated means fails with theupper part of the mast in a raised position, to lower a user to aposition in which he/she can be released from a sling supported by thelifting arm. This is a very useful safety feature not hithertoincorporated in a power operated invalid hoist.

The stay can also be extended, when the upper mast part is in itslowermost position, to move the lifting arm to a storage positionalongside the telescopic mast.

Preferably the stay includes two threaded members which are rotatablerelative to one another to extend and retract the stay.

Where a sling hanger is supported by the free end of the lifting arm,the sling hanger may be pivotable about a horizontal axis and may havetwo spaced sling attachment points on one side of the axis and at leastone sling attachment point on the other side of the axis to support abody support sling.

Preferably, a handle is provided on the lifting arm for allowing anoperator to move the hoist along a floor. In this case, the handle mayextend at least part way along each of two opposite side of the liftingarm and may have a transverse portion adjacent to the rear end of thelifting arm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of an invalid hoist according tothe invention, the hoist being shown in an in use condition,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the hoist shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the hoist shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 butshown in a collapsed storage condition,

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the mast and showing the chassis ofthe hoist with the cover removed, and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side view, partly in section, showing a part ofthe hoist shown in FIG. 1, with the covers which give the lifting armand lower mast part a better aesthetic appearance removed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring firstly to FIGS. 1 to 4 of the drawings, the invalid hoistshown therein comprises a mobile chassis 10, a lifting column 11upstanding from the chassis 10 and a lifting arm 12 supported by thelifting column 11.

As shown in FIG. 4, the chassis 10 comprises a main chassis portion 9extending transversely of the hoist and two side members 14. The sidemembers 14 are pivotable relative to the main chassis portion 9 inrespective vertical planes between a first in use position (as shown inFIGS. 1,2 and 4) in which they project forwardly from the main portion 9and a second storage position (as shown in FIG. 3) in which they extendparallel or substantially parallel to the lifting column 11 and in whichthey lie in a common vertical plane offset slightly from the liftingcolumn 11. The side members 14 are also pivotable relative to the mainchassis portion 9 (when in an in use position) in a common horizontalplane to increase the width of the front opening of the chassis to fitaround, for example, a wheelchair. To achieve this, connecting arms 56are provided between the main chassis portion 9 and the side members 14.The connecting arms 56 are pivotably connected to opposite ends of themain chassis portion 9 for pivotable movement about respective verticalaxes 54 and the side members 14 are pivotably connected to respectiveconnecting arms 56 for pivotable movement relative thereto aboutrespective horizontal axes 50. A mechanism 55 is provided for pivotingthe connecting arms 56 relative to the main chassis portion 9 so as toopen and close the side members 14 and releasable fastening means areprovided between the side members 14 and respective connecting arms 56to retain the side members in an in use position. The releasablefastening means may take the form of bolts 51 slidably mounted inholders 52 mounted on the side members 14 and sockets 53 supported bythe connecting arms 56.

The main chassis portion 9 and the connecting arms 56 are enclosed in acover 13 to improve the aesthetic appearance of the hoist.

The main chassis portion 9 is provided with two wheels or castors 15supported by brackets 16 and each side member 14 is provided with asingle wheel or castor 17 provided at or adjacent to its front end.

The side members 14 each project rearwardly of the axis 50 about whichthey are pivotably connected to the connecting arms 56 (as considered inan in use position) to such an extent that when they are in the secondstorage position the rear ends of the side members 14 and the two wheelsor castors 15 provided on the main chassis portion 13 together supportthe hoist in a stable upright position (as shown in FIG. 3).

The lifting column 11 is in the form of a telescopic actuator whichitself forms a mast having a lower part 18 which is secured to the mainchassis portion 9 and an upper part 19. The telescopic actuator 11 ispowered by a rechargeable battery 20 mounted in a compartment 21 at therear of the actuator.

The lifting arm 12 is pivotably connected to the upper end of the uppermast part 19 and has a first limb 12a extending forwardly of theactuator and a second relatively shorter limb 12b extending rearwardlyof the mast. The rear end of the limb 12b is connected by a stay 30 tothe lower mast part 18 so that when the mast 11 is extended, the liftingarm 12 will pivot upwards and, when the mast 11 is retracted, thelifting arm 12 will pivot downwards.

As shown in FIG. 5, the stay 30 is extendible and retractable andcomprises an externally threaded spindle 31 and an internally threadednut 32. The spindle 31 is mounted for rotation in a bush 33 welded tothe web 34 of a U-shaped bracket 35 which is pivotably connectedadjacent to the free ends of its two arms 36 to the rear end of thelifting arm 12. A sleeve 37 is connected to the spindle 31 by a collar38 so that the sleeve 37 surrounds the spindle 31 and an annular spaceis provided between the spindle 31 and the sleeve 37.

The extendable and retractable stay 30 is incrementally adjustable inlength between two extreme limit positions.

The nut 32 is secured to a further sleeve 39 which is secured to the web40 of a further U-shaped bracket 41 pivotably connected adjacent to thefree ends of its two arms 42 to a lug 43 clamped to the lower mast part18. The nut 32 and further sleeve 39 are located in the annular spacebetween the spindle 31 and the sleeve 37 and the nut 32 co-operates withthe spindle 31.

The spindle 31 can be rotated relative to the nut 32 to extend orretract the stay 30 by rotating the sleeve 38. This will allow thelifting arm 12 to be lowered, if the actuator 11 fails with the uppermast part 19 in a raised position, to lower a user to a position inwhich he/she can be released from a sling supported by the lifting arm12. It will also allow the lifting arm 12 to be moved between itsoperative position (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) and its storage position(shown in FIG. 3) alongside the mast.

A sling hanger 23 is connected to the front end of the lifting arm 12 bya sling hanger support 24. The support 24 comprises two parts 25 and 26rotatable relative to one another about a vertical or substantiallyvertical axis. The part 25 is pivotably connected to the lifting armabout a first horizontal axis and the sling hanger 23 is pivotablyconnected to the second part 26 about a second horizontal axis.

The sling hanger 23 has two widely spaced sling attachment points 27a onone side of the second horizontal axis and two more closely spaced slingattachment points 27b on the other side of the second horizontal axis. Asingle body support sling can then be attached to the sling attachmentpoints 27a, 27b to support a patient. The two sling attachment points27b could be replaced by a single attachment point.

A handle 28 is provided on the lifting arm to allow an operator to movethe hoist along a floor surface. The handle 28 has two side limbs 28aand 28b which extend along each of two opposite sides of the lifting arm12 and a transverse portion 28c adjacent to the rear end of the liftingarm 12. This allows the operator to manoeuvre the hoist from either sideor from the rear of the hoist.

The above embodiments are given by way of example only and variousmodifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. For example, the actuatorcould be provided within an outer telescopic housing instead of definingthe mast by itself.

We claim:
 1. An invalid hoist comprising a telescopic mast having alower part and an upper part, power operated means for raising andlowering the upper part relative to the lower part, a lifting armpivotably connected to the upper part of the mast, the lifting armhaving one of a sling hanger and at least one sling attachment pointadjacent to one end of said lifting arm, and a manuallyextendable/retractable stay between the lifting arm and the lower partof the mast, the stay including two threaded members which are rotatablerelative to one another to extend and retract the stay, the lifting armbeing pivotably connected to the upper part of the mast at a positionintermediate its ends and the extendable/retractable stay beingconnected to the lifting arm on the side of the pivotable connectionbetween the lifting arm and the upper part of the mast remote from saidone end of the lifting arm.
 2. An invalid hoist as claimed in claim 1,wherein the mast is mounted on a mobile chassis.
 3. An invalid hoist asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the stay can be extended, if the poweroperated means fails with the upper part of the mast in a raisedposition, to lower a user to a position in which the user can bereleased from a sling supported by the lifting arm.
 4. An invalid hoistas claimed in claim 1, wherein the stay can be extended, when the uppermast part is in its lowermost position, to move the lifting arm to astorage position alongside the telescopic mast.
 5. An invalid hoist asclaimed in claim 1, wherein a sling hanger is supported by the free endof the lifting arm.
 6. An invalid hoist as claimed in claim 5, whereinthe sling hanger is pivotable about a horizontal axis and has two spacedsling attachment points on one side of the axis and at least one slingattachment point on the other side of the axis.
 7. An invalid hoist asclaimed in claim 1, wherein a handle is provided on the lifting arm forallowing an operator to move the hoist along a floor.
 8. An invalidhoist as claimed in claim 7, wherein the handle extends at least partway along each of two opposite sides of the lifting arm and has atransverse portion adjacent to the rear end of the lifting arm.
 9. Aninvalid hoist comprising a telescopic mast having a lower part and anupper part, power operated means for raising and lowering the upper partrelative to the lower part, a lifting arm pivotably connected to theupper part of the mast, the lifting arm having one of a sling hanger andat least one sling attachment point adjacent to one end of said liftingarm, and a manually extendable/retractable stay between the lifting armand the lower part of the mast, the lifting arm being pivotablyconnected to the upper part of the mast at a position intermediate itsends, the extendable/retractable stay being incrementally adjustable inlength between two extreme limit positions, and being connected to thelifting arm on the side of the pivotable connection between the liftingarm and the upper part of the mast remote from said one end of thelifting arm, whereby the stay can be extended, when the upper part is inits lowermost position, to move the lifting arm to a storage positionalongside the telescopic mast.
 10. An invalid hoist as claimed in claim9, wherein the mast is mounted on a mobile chassis.
 11. An invalid hoistas claimed in claim 9, wherein the stay can be extended, if the poweroperated means fails with the upper part of the mast in a raisedposition, to lower a user to a position in which the user can bereleased from a sling supported by the lifting arm.
 12. An invalid hoistas claimed in claim 9, wherein the stay includes two threaded memberswhich are rotatable relative to one another to extend and retract thestay.
 13. An invalid hoist as claimed in claim 9, wherein a sling hangeris supported by the free end of the lifting arm.
 14. An invalid hoist asclaimed in claim 13, wherein the sling hanger is pivotable about ahorizontal axis and has two spaced sling attachment points on one sideof the axis and at least one sling attachment point on the other side ofthe axis.
 15. An invalid hoist as claimed in claim 9, wherein a handleis provided on the lifting arm for allowing an operator to move thehoist along a floor.
 16. An invalid hoist as claimed in claim 15,wherein the handle extends at least part way along each of two oppositesides of the lifting arm and has a transverse portion adjacent to therear end of the lifting arm.